Shelf and pole bracket



NOV. 1966 J. D. MARONTATE SHELF AND POLE BRACKET Filed April 12, 1965 6 1 Q 1 m P M D h O J 2 W% W a United States Patent 3,284,040 SHELF AND POLE BRACKET John D. Marontate, 2132 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, Wash. Filed Apr. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 447,392 7 Claims. (Cl. 248-235) This invention relates to a shelf and pole bracket.

The general object of the invention is to provide a bracket which, when used in combination with another like bracket, may be used to advantage in mounting a shelf and clothes pole in a closet or similar location, replacing the conventionally used shelving, woozd 'hook strips and pole holders.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shelf and pole bracket which is universal in its application, a single form of the bracket being applicable to right hand, left hand, or center applications for either free standing or corner support.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a shelf and pole bracket incorporating one or more clothes hooks which likewise are universal in their application, being mountable on either side of the bracket. Yet another object of this invention is to the provision of a shelf and pole bracket which is of unitary construction, strong, of attractive appearance and rapidly installed, using a minimum amount of a carpenters time.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specification and claims considered together with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a closet shelf and pole assembly supported on the presently described bracket;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are detail sectional views taken along lines 2-2 and 3-3 of FIG. 1 respectively and illustrating the manner of mounting the bracket and FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the construction of a novel socket employed for mounting a clothes hook on each side of the bracket.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the shelf and pole bracket of my invention is adapted for supporting a shelf and a clothes pole 12 in a closet or other suitable location. The closet may have the usual back and side walls, and the bracket may be mounted either centrally, being supported by the back wall only, or in one corner, being in that event supported by the side Wall as well as by the back wall.

The bracket is formed with an upright base 14 having enlarged upper and lower portions to provide the requisite strength. Each of these portions is provided with an opening 16 arranged transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bracket. Top and bottom pairs of openings 18, 20 also are provided in the thickened upper and lower portions of the base. These openings are arranged diagonally in opposite directions.

Base 14 supports a horizontally extending shelf arm 22 provided with a strengthening rib 24. The outer end of the arm is formed with a vertically extending tab 26 which serves as a retainer for shelf 10.

A brace arm 28 also i supported by base 14 and extends outwardly therefrom a spaced distance below shelf arm 22. It likewise has a stiffening rib 30. Its outer end is formed with an integral, upwardly arcuate pole socket 34 dimensioned to receive and support one end of pole 12.

The bracket is strengthened by one or more vertically extending struts 36, 38 which interconnect shelf arm 22 and brace arm 28.

The bracket assembly also includes a clothes hook in dicated generally at 40. This member of the assembly includes a tapered base 42 having a marginal flange 44 and an axially extending hook 46.

3,284,040 Patented Nov. 8, 1966 In the manufacture of the bracket the hook may be cast contemporaneously with the bracket as an integral part thereof, being demountably attached by means of web members 48, 50. These are formed with thined portions at their ends so that the hook may be broken out of the bracket when it is to be applied, the web members being discarded.

Means are provided for mounting hook 4,0 on one side or the other of the bracket, as the situation may demand.

The hook mounting means comprises a socket located in a selected location on, the bracket, such as an enlarged portion 52 of strut 38. The socket is illustrated parti cularly in. FIG. 4. It comprises an opening extending transversely through the bracket and consisting of two outwardly tapered opposed sections 54, 56 terminating in marginal recesses 58, 60, respectively.

The tapered sections of the socket are dimensioned to receive the tapered base 42 of hook 4.0, with flange 44 of the book seating in one of recesses 58, 60' further to stabilize the hook.

After it has been detached from the supporting webbing, the IhOOk may be inserted entirely through the socket until its tapered base wedges in the tapered socket, as is shown in FIG. 1. The direction of insertion may be from either side of the bracket, depending upon whether it is desired to have the hook project inwardly -or out- Wardly.

The bracket may be mounted using spur type fasteners such as drive screws 62, 64, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

If the bracket is to be mounted in a central location not in a corner, diagonally arranged openings 18, 20 are employed and transverse openings 16 remain idle. Screws 64 are driven through the diagonal openings into the underlying wall to support the bracket. In view of the diagonal arrangement of openings 18, 20, this may be accomplished easily without inteference [from the bracket. Also, since four screws are involved, the bracket is secured effectively to the support.

Where a corner installation of the plated, screws 64 are driven through the exposed, accessible ones of openings 18, 20. In addition, screws 62 are driven through transverse openings 16 into the side wall supporting structure. This securely mounts the bracket so that heavy loads may be applied to the shelf and clothes pole which it supports.

There thus is provided a bracket which is completely universal in its application. It has no right or left and may be installed with facility on either side or the center portion of the closet. Hook 40 likewise is universal in its application and may be extended on either side of the bracket as the situation demands. In addition, the bracket may be installed rapidly and economically, using but a few minutes of a carpenters time to drive the anchoring screws.

In accordingly will be seen apparatus in which the several achieved and which is Well practical use.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the snbjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A shelf and pole bracket comprising (a) an upright base,

(b) a shelf support arm extending horizontally from and supported by the base,

(0) a brace arm extending horizontally from and supported by the base a spaced distance vertically from the shelf support arm,

bracket is contemthat there is provided an objects of this invention are adapted for the conditions of (d) the brace arm being formed at its outer end with an integral pole socket,

(e) at least one strut interconnecting the shelf support and brace arms and (f) securing means for securing the base to a structural support.

2. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein the bracket is adapted to be mounted in a corner defined by a back and side wall, the back surface of the base being positioned flush against the back wall and the side surface of the base being positioned flush against the side wall, the base being provided with side and back transverse openings, the securing means comprising spur fasteners dimensioned to extend through selected ones of the openings and into the Wall.

3. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein the bracket is adapted to be mounted in a corner defined by a back and side wall, the back surface of the base being positioned flush against the back wall and the side surface of the base being positioned flush against the side wall, the base being provided with side and back transverse openings, the securing means comprising spur fasteners dimensioned to extend through selected ones of the openings and into the wall, the side opening being provided in oppositely-directed, diagonally-arranged pairs, on the right and left sides of the base, thereby making the bracket universally mountable in right and left hand corners.

4. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein one of the arms is provided with a central transverse opening, and including a clothes hook comprising a hook part and a base part, the base part being dimensioned to be seated in the opening.

5. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein one of the arms is provided with a central transverse wedgeshaped opening, and including a clothes hook comprising a hook part and a wedge-shaped base part, the base part being dimensioned to be wedged in the opening.

6. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein the brace arm has a central transverse opening therethrough, the opening being oppositely tapered to provide tapered sockets, one on each side of the arm, and including a clothes hook comprising a hook part and a base part, the base part being wedge-shaped and dimensioned to Wedge in a selected one of the sockets, thereby determining the direction of outward extension of the hook part.

7. The shelf and pole bracket of claim 1 wherein the brace arm has a central transverse opening therethrough, the opening being oppositely tapered to provide tapered sockets, one on each side of the arm, and including a clothes hook comprising a hook part and a base part, the base part being wedge-shaped and dimensioned to wedge in a selected one of the sockets, thereby determining the direction of outward extension of the hook part, each socket being provided with a marginal recess and the base part being provided with a flange dimensioned to seat in the recess.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,153,929 9/1915 Kearns et al 8892 2,887,802 5/1959 Burmeister l30 2,908,471 10/1959 Hollansworth 248-247 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SHELF AND POLE BRACKET COMPRISING (A) AN UPRIGHT BASE, (B) A SHELF SUPPORT ARM EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM AND SUPPORTED BY THE BASE, (C) A BRACE ARM EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM THE SUPPORTED BY THE BASE A SPACED DISTANCE VERTICALLY FROM THE SHELF SUPPORT ARM, (D) THE BRACE ARM BEING FORMED AT ITS OUTER END WITH AN INTEGRAL POLE SOCKET, (E) AT LEAST ONE STRUT INTERCONNECTING THE SHELF SUPPORT AND BRACE ARMS AND (F) SECURING MEANS FOR SECURING THE BASE TO A STRUCTURAL SUPPORT. 